FAQs - Odds and Drawing a Winner
Odds
What are the odds of winning a prize in the lottery?
Your odds of winning a prize are related to the number of tickets sold in each lottery. The total number of tickets available in each lottery can be found in the Terms and Conditions.
Usually, your odds will be much better than the total number of tickets available, as we don't usually sell all the tickets on offer. That means more chances to win!
Remember, every single ticket has the same chance of winning, regardless of when or how you purchase it.
How are the number of tickets in a lottery determined?
Each lottery run by Endeavour Foundation Lotteries is subject to a permit application made to relevant state regulators – these permit numbers are displayed in the terms and conditions and on marketing material. The permits themselves are subject to state legislation.
For example, there are legislative requirements set on the ratio of prize value to revenue generated by ticket sales. The ratios exist to ensure community confidence that these lotteries are a worthwhile way to raise meaningful funds for our cause.
We set the total number of tickets available based on our projections of interest in the draw and the expected uptake of different bundle offerings. It must also be within the upper limit set by legislation.
Where interest in a lottery is stronger than expected, no ticket would be sold beyond the upper limit. Instead, the lottery is marked as sold out.
What is the money raised from ticket sales used for?
You can read more about how we use the money we raise on our About Us page.
How do your odds compare?
We have some of the best odds of any lottery, particularly if you buy one of our ticket bundles.
We restrict the number of tickets sold in each of our lotteries to ensure everyone has a great chance of winning one of our life-changing prizes. Information about the maximum number of tickets in each draw is available in our terms and conditions on our website.
Drawing a Winner
How do I find out if I have won a prize?
After each draw, all winners are notified by phone and Registered Post. You can also view the draw results on the website after each lottery has been drawn. If you have an email address registered with us, you will receive an email from us with the draw results.
Where are draws undertaken?
Draws are usually conducted at Endeavour Foundation head office in Cannon Hill, QLD. You can find more details in each lottery's terms and conditions.
How do you ensure the winner is selected at random?
For all major prize draws, we use an approved barrel to select a winning ticket number at random. For some smaller prize draws, we may opt to use an approved and certified digital system for operational reasons. While the barrel is more exciting to watch on our livestreams, the digital system is faster and allows us to give away even more prizes.
Both methods are subject to approval by regulators, who we must satisfy that the method we use guarantees each and every ticket has a fair and equal chance of winning in each draw. The digital system is even evaluated by specialist technicians and mathematicians for fairness.
If regulators weren’t satisfied with our approach, they simply wouldn’t allow us to run the lottery – and no one wants that.
So rest assured, the winners of all our draws are selected at random. We always have an external, independent auditor to ensure absolute integrity throughout the draw. Our internal policy and processes also ensure integrity throughout the draw.
Whether using the barrel or digital system, there is no doubt - each ticket in the draw has the same, equal chance of being drawn. This randomness does mean the barrel occasionally may output a ticket number outside the range of sold / eligible tickets, but our policy dictates we check if the ticket is in our lottery system. If it is not sold or not within the possible range of tickets, the redraw process continues until we find an eligible winning ticket.
Why do you sometimes remove numbers from the barrel?
Firstly, we only remove balls that do not impact the chances of any sold ticket being drawn.
It's important to understand we only remove numbered balls from the first chamber of the barrel where there are no tickets sold starting with that number. For example, if the last ticket we sold was 204,538 then we can safely remove balls 3 through 9 from just the first chamber as there cannot be a winning ticket starting with a 3, 4, 5 etc.
If we left balls 3 through 9 in, then we'd simply spend a lot more time drawing out numbers that don't exist - and that's not very fun to watch!
We never remove any numbers from other chambers. You'll see in our livestreams that the external auditor verifies all balls are present.
Now, where this process leaves only one or two balls in the first chamber, we may add additional balls in equal proportion. For example, where we only have 0's and 1's, we may add 5x0 and 5x1 balls to the chamber. This is to increase the chances of a ball being loaded into the barrel slot after spinning. It doesn't affect anyone's chances of winning.
We will continue to work incredibly hard to guarantee that every ticket has an equal chance of winning.
Who oversees the draw to ensure integrity?
Firstly, the draw process is documented and approved by state gaming regulators as part of the permits we need to run a lottery.
We also ensure an independent, external auditor oversees every draw we undertake.
Then, we have a comprehensive set of internal policies and procedures to ensure integrity.
Endeavour Foundation's internal auditor also oversees the process.
Any staff involved with the lottery or the drawing process (and their family) are excluded from buying a ticket too. See the lottery terms and conditions for more details on entry eligibility.
Can I claim a prize if I lose my ticket?
Yes, you can claim a prize if you have lost your ticket on the condition you can provide a statutory declaration and photo identification to confirm your identity matches the details on the ticket.
You may be required to show proof of purchase as well.